DREAMY IN HIGH PARK

SCHADENFORDE

The mayor has a new ride to go with the tough-guy image he's been burnishing. It's a Cadillac Escalade SUV, the preferred wheels of pimps and gangstas that takes its name from a siege warfare tactic. No more minivan for the so-called man of the people. Sticker price: from $94,463. The mayor's peeps went into damage control mode when Ford arrived for a photo op in the monster last week. Brother Doug, the councillor for Ward 2, told the Star it was a gift from him and brother Randy. But a different story appeared in the Sun, which quoted the mayor as saying he'd saved a long time to buy the luxury wheels. Either way, taxpayers end up picking up the fuel tab. The cost to fill up one of these babies: $130.

MORE THAN 140,000

Number of unwanted cats and dogs that ended up in Canadian animal shelters in 2010

50,000 Number that were euthanized because good homes couldn't be found for them

SPOTTED

"Danger due to bad mayor" outside the construction zone at Toronto Dance Theatre at Winchester and Metcalfe in Cabbagetown, before someone with spray-paint came by to whiteout the message.

CITY HALL WATCH

In a move the arts community is calling a "big surprise," Rita Davies, the city's executive director of culture, has left her post. Michael Williams, general manager of Economic Development and Culture, broke the news in a letter Thursday, July 19, the day before Davies was scheduled to leave. Toronto Arts Council executive director Claire Hopkinson described Davies as "a true champion of culture," who will be "sorely missed." Davies, who has been with the city since 1999, was instrumental in the development of the city's culture plan and is credited with taking arts programs to underserved areas. About a dozen of the city's top 'crats have departed since Rob Ford took office 18 months ago.